CIVICSD TAKES ITS FIRST DEVELOPMENT ACTION

San Diego 
Civic San Diego, the city’s newly reconfigured redevelopment arm, took its first action Wednesday as it winds down activities of the old downtown redevelopment agency and ramps up a citywide focus.

The board unanimously approved a $4 million cost overrun to the $32 million redo of the old San Diego Athletic Club building. That downtown structure is slated to become a transitional homeless shelter by year’s end.

The project — Connections Housing, by the Affirmed Housing Group — earlier received a $15.1 million loan from the city. That deal was worked out by Civic San Diego’s predecessor, the Centre City Development Corp., with the goal of converting the old office building at Sixth Avenue and A Street into a 225-bed shelter. The loan came from redevelopment property taxes set aside for affordable housing programs.

Civic San Diego’s action will need approval from the City Council, the California Department of Finance and the San Diego Oversight Board.

The signoff process is required under the state’s dissolution of redevelopment agencies, including San Diego’s, as of Feb. 1.

Civic San Diego — also known as CivicSD — took over the responsibilities of CCDC and the Southeastern Economic Development Corp. on July 1. It is a city-owned, nonprofit corporation primarily responsible for handling leftover projects from CCDC for downtown and SEDC for neighborhoods generally south of state Route 94 and east of Interstate 15.

The council has left open the option of widening Civic San Diego’s focus to include revitalization and economic development needs in the city’s 11 other former redevelopment areas.